Ford, Charles

Charles Ford (1824-1890), born in New Jersey, came to California in 1849, and to the Pajaro Valley in 1852. His biography in Harrison is reproduced on his Find-a-Grave page. Ford is mentioned often in Elliott and Guinn, but without a biography. After an abortive try at potato farming, Ford moved into Watsonville, where he partnered with Lucius Sanborn as Ford & Sanborn to establish a retail business. That eventually became the family-owned Ford's department store that remained a Watsonville and Santa Cruz anchor store until after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Powell noted that: "Two of Watsonville’s prominent businessmen, Charles Ford and John Porter, alongside Godfrey M. Bockius, Thomas Walker, Charles Lewis Thomas, Charles Moss, and John Nelson Besse, came together on May 11, 1874 to form the town’s first bank, appropriately named the Bank of Watsonville. Ford was elected president and the other six men became the bank’s first directors."

• Ronald G. Powell, The Reign of the Lumber Barons, edited by Derek R. Whaley (Santa Cruz, CA: Zayante Books, 2021), 68 (Kindle version).

Charles' older brother John (1820-1863) also came to Watsonville. Note that a different John Ford has a biography in Elliott.